Whoa, it's the dream motherboard for HTPCs. It has built-in DVI, VGA, Component AND HDMI.

I want one. Preferably AFTER I get a nice new HDTV.
EDIT: For PakkaPakka
It looks like 7.1 audio output (maybe?), VGA, DVI, Component, either PS/2 or S-Video (I can never remember), HDMI, 2xEthernet, and 4xUSB. Not counting internal headers of course.

EDIT: For PakkaPakkaIt looks like 7.1 audio output (maybe?), VGA, DVI, Component, either PS/2 or S-Video (I can never remember), HDMI, 2xEthernet, and 4xUSB. Not counting internal headers of course.

Thanks sthayashi, I've never seen a HDMI connector to this day. Wonder if the AOpen board can provide sound through the HDMI interface...
Btw, are there any HDMI->DVI convertors on the market?

For me this is also the first mainboard to see without the typical legacy connector group: no serial, no parallel, no ps/2. I guess now I'll have to buy one of these PS2->USB converters to attach my MS Internet keyboard...

Looking at the product spec page a bit more it seems that the board has onboard Firewire (400mbps I guess) and serial headers.

Can anyone figure out what kind of heatsink retention mechanism is used? Is seems smaller than the old (i855GME-LFS) P4 mechanism...

Can anyone figure out what kind of heatsink retention mechanism is used? Is seems smaller than the old (i855GME-LFS) P4 mechanism...

Since the hole placement is in a square I can only guess socket T. In a way it seems logical since the last board had socket 478, though I think they could have kept it that way. Theres no reason for a rectangular shape when the socket T is square shaped, anything else is waste of space... and they can't afford that.

Wait, it looks smaller than socket T. (Maybe we'll find socket 370 lugs, making it even more P3!!! Just buy a SI-97! Yeah right... just kidding)

Yeahyeah, both DDR & DDR2 slots, but still no 400MHz DDR support!!! LOL!!!

Well that's also a way to make DDR2 look better (by eliminateing the rival). The reason is of course that we're dealing with a mobile chipset, DDR2 draws less power. They kept DDR support just for those cheap laptops.

Edit: Or is the 533 MHz support for DDR too?

Last edited by Mats on Thu Jan 20, 2005 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I guess DFI's new mobo will show up really soon. Anandtech mentioned that it would use a desktop chipset (=cheaper?) but I think they wrote it before people knew that the mobile one was called 915 as well, so it was probably some misunderstanding somewhere.

It looks like the heatsink is just as wide as an IDE connector which is almost 60 mm (it is not socket T).... maybe a Zalman 7000 will fit with the clip in diagonal?

Otherwise I'll have to start up the CNC machine... ..wait, I don't have the mobo yet.

Whoa, it's the dream motherboard for HTPCs. It has built-in DVI, VGA, Component AND HDMI.

No optical or coax which is surprising. HDMI is lousy. It buys you nothing over DVI (other than the crappy integrated sound) and is DRM encumbered.

There's S/PDIF IN?!?!?! WTF? That means that one of those audio connectors is an optical connector. But why would you want that to be an input when clearly everything else is oriented for a home theater platform?

On the translated spec page, down by I/O Back Panel, they mention S/PDIF_IN. It's never been clear to me why someone other than an audio professional needs S/PDIF_IN on a computer. S/PDIF is digital and is usually either Coax or Optical.

Optical ports can look just like a normal audio port, which leads me to believe that one of those six audio jacks in the back is one of them. There are actually two kinds of optical ports. The square ones with the tab that you pull out in order to use (Often found on Stereo/Surround receivers). Then there are the audio jack looking ones that are popular on smaller devices. Some sound cards have them as do some MD players (at least the ones I saw when I was actually living in Japan).

Ahh ok thanks. But that begs the question (actually it doesnt but whatever), wheres the digital out?
I do have an MD player with the optical in that ive never used heh. Anyway thanks for the clarification. This platform has some serious potential and I'll dump AMD/nvidia happily for it if the price isnt stupid like current boards.

I wish they would just market a stripped down desktop version of the i915GMm without all these media features, dual LAN, etc. and cut the price down a bit. I've got an audigy 2 and a geforce 6600 w/component out so I don't need any of these extra features.

All I want ouf of sonoma is for someone to offer a cut down board for less than $150 that has a standard 478 or 775 mounting mechanism. Hopefully that's not too much to ask.

I can't help but wonder if the costs are high due to the chipset being expensive. I'm also wondering if Intel is only selling these chipsets as part of the Centrino package and that these motherboard manufacturers are having to buy Centrino and then throw away the excess.

Either that or they say, "You can buy an Alviso chipset if you buy 100 915P chipsets as well"

I wish they would just market a stripped down desktop version of the i915GMm without all these media features, dual LAN, etc. and cut the price down a bit. I've got an audigy 2 and a geforce 6600 w/component out so I don't need any of these extra features.

All I want ouf of sonoma is for someone to offer a cut down board for less than $150 that has a standard 478 or 775 mounting mechanism. Hopefully that's not too much to ask.

It would be really great if some cheap mobo maker like ASRock made a PM mobo with a regular 865 or 915 chipset. They have already made some really crazy mobos so it wouldn't surprise me. Just because the PM works at such low FSB it would make any regular cheap P4-like mobo enough even for the highest overclocking.

No, it's not. Yes the sockets have different pinouts but that's another story. I'm not talking about using a regular P4 mobo, just a cheap regular P4 chipset. There are already such solutions (PM with P4 chipset) although that's server solutions (I think it was a 75xx chipset made for P4/Xeon).

Edit: Another example is the new DFI mobo for PM based on the 852 chipset which is made for mobile P4.

Whoa, it's the dream motherboard for HTPCs. It has built-in DVI, VGA, Component AND HDMI.

I want one. Preferably AFTER I get a nice new HDTV.EDIT: For PakkaPakkaIt looks like 7.1 audio output (maybe?), VGA, DVI, Component, either PS/2 or S-Video (I can never remember), HDMI, 2xEthernet, and 4xUSB. Not counting internal headers of course.

I am not an expert in these matters, but it appears that the small D connector is not HDMI but the Japan-specific "D-Terminal" video connector.

Motherboard maker AOpen has followed up its recent Pentium M-based desktop board with a new model equipped with the latest generation of Centrino technology.

Like its predecessor, the i915GM-FHS is pitched at desktop machines being developed for low-noise roles, such as living room PCs. The new model uses Intel's 915GM chipset, which supports a 533MHz frontside bus speed Pentium M CPU.

The board relies on the chipset's integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 900 engine for video, but there's a PCI Express x16 slot for the addition a more powerful graphics card. There are x PCI Express x1 slot and a pair of PCI slots for further expansion.

AOpen has included two Serial ATA and two Serial ATA II ports for internal storage, along with an Ultra ATA/100 link. The board provides two DIMM slots, a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports, two Firewire ports and eight USB 2.0 sockets.

EDIT: For PakkaPakkaIt looks like 7.1 audio output (maybe?), VGA, DVI, Component, either PS/2 or S-Video (I can never remember), HDMI, 2xEthernet, and 4xUSB. Not counting internal headers of course.

Thanks sthayashi, I've never seen a HDMI connector to this day. Wonder if the AOpen board can provide sound through the HDMI interface...Btw, are there any HDMI->DVI convertors on the market?

Guys that isn't HDMI, it is a Japanese standard called "D terminal" it is a way to send a Hi-Def RGB signal. You can see it mentioned in the 3rd link provided (the PR material). A bunch of AOpen's graphics cards have this too. A few weeks back I noticed this Abit Radeon and saw the mention of the "D Connector" I spent quite some time trying to figure out what it was.

For TV it has both component (as good as HDMI) and S-video, plus DVI output for a monitor.

I'm starting from zero to build my first computer and now this board is my first pick for a small, quiet computer, inside either Aopen's great-looking H360 case or in the In WinV523T, provided the exhaust fan is 92mm, as it looks to be.

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